Singapore stocks open lower on Thursday; STI down 0.2%

SINGAPORE shares opened slightly lower on Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street. The Straits Times Index (STI) was down 0.2 per cent or 4.49 points at 3,064.45 as at 9.02am.

Losers outnumbered gainers 63 to 57, after 44.5 million securities worth S$70.7 million changed hands.

The most active counter by volume was OxPay Financial TVV , which saw 3.3 million of its shares worth S$1.2 million traded as at 9.02am. Its shares gained S$0.02 or 5.7 per cent to S$0.37.

Miyoshi M03 was also actively traded, with 2.1 million shares worth S$60,000 changing hands. Its shares were down 0.5 Singapore cent or 13.5 per cent at 3.2 cents. The components manufacturer announced on Wednesday that a customer, the group's major revenue contributor, will delist its registered activity with the Philippines Economic Zone effective from Nov 30, mainly due to the business directive of the customer to consolidate its production line.

Among index stocks, Ascendas Reit A17U saw brisk trading, with 1.5 million units worth S$4.6 million changing hands. The counter was up S$0.02 or 0.7 per cent at S$3.06.

The trio of local banks were down in early trade. DBS D05 fell S$0.10 or 0.3 per cent to S$29.96, UOB U11 lost S$0.09 or 0.4 per cent to S$25.37, while OCBC O39 shed S$0.05 or 0.4 per cent to S$11.53.

In the US, Wall Street stocks ended lower on Wednesday on worries over the economic hit from the latest coronavirus wave and as more large companies reported supply chain problems amid the pandemic.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.2 per cent to finish trading at 35,031.07, the broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.1 per cent to close at 4,514.07, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 0.6 per cent to 15,286.64.

Meanwhile, European stocks marked their biggest decline in three weeks on Wednesday, a day before a European Central Bank meeting that will see policymakers debate a cut in its pandemic-era stimulus programme. The Europe-focused Stoxx 600 index fell 1.1 per cent, with automobile stocks leading losses with a 2.2 per cent drop.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo stocks opened lower on Thursday as Wall Street falls weighed on the market, with investors adjusting their positions ahead of the settlement of futures and options this week.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index was down 0.7 per cent or 207.50 points at 29,973.71 in early trade, while the broader Topix index slipped 0.6 per cent or 12.45 points to 2,067.16.